Could Hackenberg and Breneman be the next Williams and King?

"When I hear about the friendship between Christian Hackenberg and Adam Breneman, I think about Derrick Williams and Justin King. I think about how th

JOE HERMITT, The Patriot-NewsPenn State quarterback recruit Christian Hackenberg talks with tight end recruit Adam Breneman during the annual Blue-White game held at Beaver Stadium. JOE HERMITT, The Patriot-News

We need another Derrick Williams and Justin King. Remember back in the early 2000s in those dark
days of Penn State football. Several
losing seasons had many wondering if the old Lion was in the winter of his
career. Spanier and Co. were turned away
under cover of night by Paterno who was offered an early retirement. But Paterno had a secret weapon in those dark
days. That fertile recruiting soil
around the DC/Baltimore beltway. D-Line
coach from MD Larry Johnson had been plowing and uncovered a treasure trove of
recruits that would change everything.

I had heard the hype about Derrick Williams. I read the stories about how this big time
recruit from Maryland and friend of Justin King was bringing his friends from
MD with him to State College. They were
part of the freshman phenoms. William
passed over the chance to be a superstar in a FL jersey to help revive and
leave an indelible mark on a storied program many thought was on its last
breath. But I didn't really know Derrick
Williams.

In Sept. 2005, I was sitting at a booth in the front window
of Champs, a restaurant and sports bar on Atherton. Penn State was away at Northwestern. I was up in State College visiting my
daughter, a Penn State student, who was studying quietly in the booth across
from me. I was nursing a diet soda while I watched the game on the big screen. Penn State was losing in the final two
minutes. Kicker Kevin Kelly was warming
up on the sideline as JoePa paced back and forth. Michael Robinson converted on 4th
and 15 on a pass to Isaac Smolko to keep the drive going. He completed another pass to true freshman
Deon Butler. Robinson kept the ball and
ran out of bounds to stop the clock.
With less than one minute left, Robinson hit Williams on a left corner
route. Williams had to wait on the
ball. In what seems like an eternity, he
paused, brought in the ball, ducked under the corner, and dashed into the end
zone. The entire restaurant was on its
feet screaming. Hello, Derrick Williams.

That play sealed the deal and became an ESPN game changing moment that still lives
on youtube and ESPN Classics. Beyond
that play and the talent that Derrick Williams brought to the Nittany Lions was
his effort to bring a stable of players with him from MD. That led to the 2005 Freshmen Phenoms and more
Beltway Boys the next year such as AJ Wallace and Aaron Maybin.

Not all of the players that year were of superstar
caliber. Undersized Deon Butler and
Jordan Norwood were frequent receiving targets for four years. Think walk on Ethan Kilmer, a Shippensburg
transfer who had a breakout senior season and went on to a career in the NFL.

When I hear about the friendship between Christian
Hackenberg and Adam Breneman, I think about Derrick Williams and Justin King. I think about how their desire to be a part
of something bigger than themselves helped restore Penn State to its former
glory. Penn State needs players like
that now more than ever. The superstars
like Hackenberg and Breneman. The
diamonds in the rough like Butler and Norwood.
Could it be players like Kasey Gaines?
And what about those players Bill
O'Brien calls run-ons. An Ethan
Kilmer or Matt McGloin type.

Christian Hackenberg and Adam Breneman could play
anywhere. They have decided to stick
with Penn State for now. The same could be
said of Derrick Williams and Justin King. Those two chose to come to Penn State
in its darkest hour. In the coming
months, there will be attempts by many silver tongued devils to get the 2013
recruits to go anywhere but Penn State.
History has the habit of repeating itself.
The legacy of Williams and King could be passed like a baton from one
pair of buddies to another. Another
legend could be born.